ALBANY, NY – A federal judge has thrown out two grand jury subpoenas issued to New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the top federal prosecutor in the Northern District of New York lacked legal authority to issue them.
In a 24-page opinion issued January 8, 2026, U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield, sitting by designation, quashed the subpoenas and barred John A. Sarcone III from further participation in the related federal criminal investigation. The subpoenas had sought internal records from the New York Attorney General’s Office regarding its ongoing civil cases against former President Donald J. Trump and the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Judge Schofield found that Sarcone was not lawfully serving as Acting U.S. Attorney when he issued the subpoenas on August 5, 2025. Federal law requires that U.S. Attorneys be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Temporary appointments are permitted for up to 120 days under 28 U.S.C. § 546, after which the district court’s judges may fill the vacancy—but only through explicit judicial action.
According to the opinion, Sarcone’s interim appointment expired, and the judges of the Northern District of New York declined to extend it. Instead, the Department of Justice reclassified Sarcone’s position administratively, naming him “Acting U.S. Attorney” without statutory authority. Judge Schofield said the maneuver violated federal law, calling it an “unlawful workaround” that undermined congressional limits on executive power.
“When the Executive Branch skirts restraints put in place by Congress and then uses that power to subject political adversaries to criminal investigations, it acts without lawful authority,” Schofield wrote.
The court noted that similar rulings in New Jersey, Nevada, and California have struck down appointments of acting U.S. Attorneys installed through the same process. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed one such decision, and the Eastern District of Virginia reached a similar conclusion in late 2025.
As a result of the ruling, the subpoenas targeting the New York Attorney General’s Office are void, and the federal investigation tied to those subpoenas must proceed—if at all—under the supervision of a lawfully appointed prosecutor.
Key Points: Federal judge quashes Trump–NRA subpoenas, rules U.S. Attorney in Albany served unlawfully – Albany
- Judge Lorna G. Schofield ruled that Acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone III was unlawfully installed.
- The subpoenas sought records from the New York Attorney General’s civil cases against Donald Trump and the NRA.
- The subpoenas were declared invalid, and Sarcone was disqualified from further participation in the investigation.
